"Mommy, What's Your Face?"


As my daughter matured emotionally, she began to inquire the emotion behind people's facial expressions. Mostly my own.
She would look up at me and say "Mommy, what's your face?"
And I would respond by telling her, "Mommy's so happy." or "Mommy's sad." or "Mommy is just upset." Something along those lines.

She learned to distinguish between a happy face and a not so happy face by simply asking me, "Mommy, what's your face?"
She would then pay attention to my expression and say things like, "Mommy, don't be sad." or "Mommy, don't be mad."
This always broke my heart.

I have anxiety as I have said over and over again throughout my posts.
My face often takes on a furrowed brow look, when my mind is going a million miles an hour, and frequently taking unpleasant turns....
When I am in my zone and thinking unpleasant thoughts, I am interrupted by my precious little one who says, "Mommy, what's your face?" or "Mommy don't be sad."
Then I snap out of it, offer her a reassuring smile and hug and tell her, "Mommy is so happy. You make me so happy."

Our children pay attention.
They look at us. They observe us. And, most importantly, they LEARN from us!
What do I want my daughters face to communicate to the world?
Love. Peace. Contentment. Power. Authority. Wisdom. Dependability. Responsibility.
Trustworthy. Honor. Respect. Confidence. Happiness. Virtue. Goodness. Christ.
This is more or less who I am. Is that what I am projecting?

What can I do to teach her about my face? About my countenance?
What can I learn from her, about how others see me just by looking at my face?
What do I want my face to read?
What do you want YOUR face to communicate?

So I ask you, "Mommy, What's YOUR Face?"

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